Interesting! I'm sure it's still be one of the better flats (I've never had an issue with Wisdom's flats, coasters are another story), but having the OSTRs would take away part of that near death charm.

There’s nothing like your first roller coaster ride of the year. I may have been going 60-70 mph all winter, but it was in my POS Volkswagen (when your car’s hub caps shoot off when you hit a pot hole and doesn’t have a working defogger, I count that as a POS). The rush of wind from the first coaster ride of the year is a special rush.

Usually that first coaster ride is at Six Flags New England, but this year I cheated and had two trips to Florida. Having said that, opening weekend at Six Flags New England wasn’t any less exciting. How could I not be excited to ride two of the world’s best coasters in my backyard? Mako and Montu are great coasters, but I’ll still take Wicked Cyclone or Superman over them any day of the week.

I wasn’t able to make opening day, so I attended on the second operating day, a Sunday. In some ways, I think that was to my benefit. The weather was sunny, but a frigid 35 degrees. As a result, the park was dead. Even though all major coasters minus Batman were running one train, it was never more than 2-3 train wait.

Poor Taz is probably experiencing shrinkage.

Wicked Cyclone or Superman? That’s always a tough debate. I prefer Wicked Cyclone overall, but Superman front row is the superior experience. Usually I end up starting and finishing at Superman since my friends and family definitely prefer that ride and the difference is slight enough I don’t mind. But on this day, we didn’t start at Superman. No, we started with…

Surprise!

The Carousel. Yes the Carousel. It was loading and my girlfriend is a big fan of them so we figured why not. I honestly don’t remember the last time I rode SFNE’s Carousel. The horses looked a bit beat up, but they are wood-crafted and over 100 years old. And unlike Coney Island’s Carousell (on the day I rode at least), SFNE’s had the all-important music playing. I also noticed a disco ball fixed atop the carousel, but didn’t want to ask any questions. 7 out of 10

Since we had the dining plan and noticed the Riverboat Cafe was deserted (a rarity), we stopped in to use our swipe. We decided to be healthy (well as healthy as you can be at Six Flags) and order a grilled chicken wrap. Let’s just say I won’t be doing that again. From the 15 minute wait with just 4 people ahead of me to the absolutely tasteless chicken, I’ll stick with the fried chicken next time.

Now it was time for Superman. Despite one train operations, the line for the front didn’t take more than an additional 15-20 minutes. That’s well worth it for arguably the park’s best coaster experience. Wicked Cyclone is superior to Superman in almost every seat. But Superman front row beats Wicked Cyclone in my opinion.

I saw some posting online that Superman felt sluggish. In sub-40 degree temperatures opening weekend, that’d almost be expected. But honestly, I thought the ride was running as well as it was last year, which is better than it has since it transformed into Bizarro. The coaster was absolutely hauling, recklessly cutting through the wind.

Yes the restraints are bulky, but the layout is a work of art. The setting next to the river is picturesque. The first drop into the tunnel is solid. The three camelback hills on the outward leg provide three of the best moments of sustained ejector air on a coaster out there. And then the spaghetti bowl finale combines aggressive pops of ejector air with powerful Gs on the helixes. 10 out of 10

After riding so many similar B&M hypers, I've really learned to appreciate Superman even more.

Few coasters offer the sustained ejector air of the Man of Steel.

And Superman has ejector air in droves.

Imagine living across the river and having this beauty in your backyard.

We decided to head towards Gotham City (the new South End), but not before riding the most asininely long ride name out there, Gotham City Gauntlet: Escape from Arkham Asylum. Seriously try to say that 10 times fast. Your words will turn to mush.

The coaster was running less trains than usual, which wasn’t a problem on such a sparsely attended day. But it also seemed to have an auxiliary benefit. The ride didn’t seem to be braked as hard as it has on past visits. That resulted in a few pops of air on the ride’s final hills that’s usually absent. It’s never a priority in a visit, but I’ll hit this coaster if it doesn’t have a wait. 5 out of 10

I guess Arkham Asylum isn't located in Gotham City anymore?

For years, Mind Eraser abused the skulls of New Englanders. Heads were violently bashed against the oversized OSTRs to fit in with the ride’s old theme. If you got a concussion, your mind would be erased. Last year, the park made two changes to the coaster. One was to add VR, which was a colossal failure. The headsets barely worked and who wants to be riding a SLC blind?

The second completely changed my thoughts towards the ride- new trains with vest restraints. Before the new trains, I despised Mind Eraser. I probably rode it once total between 2012-2016. But if you remove the headbanging, I can suddenly appreciate how chaotic and intense SLCs are.

In an effort to spice up the South End (and possibly ditch the ride’s old reputation as a painful torture device), the coaster was rethemed as the Riddler Revenge. The green paint looks fantastic. It’s a minor thing, but I really like how the coaster no longer shares the same paint scheme as the adjacent Superman. It helps the park’s star attraction standout more.

This almost sounds blasphemous in the coaster community, but I really like this SLC. The ride isn’t glass smooth by any means, but the restraints deliver a perfectly comfortable coaster experience. Almost as blasphemous as the first statement, I’ll even take this ride over some B&Ms now. 7 out of 10

And the award for the coaster whose name is most likely to be screwed up is, Riddler's Revenge. Oops I meant Riddler Revenge. See what I mean?

Slingshot is definitely invading Riddler's personal space.

Speaking of a B&M I’d take Riddler over, Batman: the Dark Knight is located next door. My girlfriend and I were stunned that Batman was the lone major coaster running two trains, but we weren’t going to object since the completely empty queue guaranteed us the elusive front row on a ride with assigned seating.

Batman is so much better up front. The view of the river cresting the lift is beautiful and it quickly dissolves into a rapid-fire array of inversions. Most of the inversions aren’t particularly forceful, but the one that stands out is the zero-G roll. Aided by the trim brake before it, time seems to stand still during Batman’s zero-G roll. 7 out of 10

I still can't believe I prefer a SLC to a B&M.

And it isn't even a bad ride either.

After our lone ride on Batman, we decided to ride the Caped Crusader’s archnemesis, the Joker. For Holiday in the Park, Joker is the park’s star attraction in my opinion. But on this day, we only rode the Joker once. While walking through the empty queue, it was hard not to notice just how close Harley Quinn was to the Joker. The full swings on Harley Quinn will certainly have some epic foot-choppers.

After 12 rides at Holiday in the Park, I knew full well the green side is a significantly wilder ride so I was sure to select it. On this side, you’re guaranteed at least 3-4 flips with potential for 6-8 if you throw your weight into the flips on the top section. And of course that’s what we did. Sure it was a bit of a workout, but it yielded a wild ride. I don’t get the hate for these free flies. It’s not like we’re talking about Magic Mountain’s Green Lantern here. 8 out of 10

Looks like Harley Quinn isn't the only one who gets to ride the Joker.

Also Harley Quinn looks absolutely massive I might add.

And here's the temporarily closed Tea Cups in Buzzsaw's old spot. RIP Buzzsaw.

The temperature was plunging. That meant a Wicked Cyclone was coming. The coaster wasn’t more than a 1-2 train wait for any row, so we grabbed multiple rides in both the front and back. Compared to the other RMCs I’ve ridden, this one is a middle-of-the-pack ride. But that still equates to a world-class coaster and something firmly in my top 10.

This coaster is just bonkers. The ride may only be 50-55 mph, but it feels a whole lot faster with how well it sustains its speed. The first drop sends riders skyward and basically every single hill afterwards does the same. Arguably the coaster’s most intense moment is the hidden outward banked hill that delivers one of the most violent moments of ejector air out there.

Then you have the hangtime filled stalls and zero-G rolls, all of which provide some beautiful hang-time augmented by the lap-bar only trains. Now the coaster does lose some steam after that last zero-G roll, but it doesn’t lose any intensity. There’s another outward banked hill that’s taken slow as molasses, but it still somehow manages to completely eject riders. And then that’s followed by two tiny hills that again provide more air than they have any right to.

I don’t know what it is about Wicked Cyclone, but this thing seems to run faster in the cold days at the start and end of SFNE’s season. I can dream they open this for Holiday in the Park someday. But until then I’ll enjoy this 10 out of 10 ride from April through October.

Wicked Cyclone is absolutely wicked.

It's got airtime where you'd expect airtime.

And even more airtime where you don't expect airtime.

A train full of happy riders.

I hadn’t seen the New England SkyScreamer run for quite some time, so I was worried the ride had shut down. It’d be a shame to deprive myself of an opportunity to get frostbite 400 feet in the air. Turns out it was open, but the ride needed at least 14 brave (or stupid if you ask my girlfriend) souls. Usually this is a painfully slow queue to wait through in summer, so I’ll happily wait 5-10 minutes in this case for enough riders.

The park wisely published all their park maps prior to the opening of Orlando’s new tallest skyscreamer, so for the rest of 2018 at least, this will be known as the world’s tallest skyscreamer to most guests. Even if it will be surpassed, 400 feet is still plenty tall. Especially on a cold and windy day in April.

I’ve seen others note their swings being switched around on windy days, but I had never seen it firsthand. Well I not only saw it, but I experienced it. I can’t tell you how uneasy of a feeling it is to have your chain-link swing spinning like a top that high off the ground, yet at the same time I absolutely loved it. I’m in the minority that prefers the Windseekers over SkyScreamers, but this ride may have converted me. 10 out of 10

Pandemonium’s queue was the perfect way to illustrate just how dead the park was. It doesn’t matter how busy the park is, but it’s almost a guarantee that little spinner will have at least an hour wait (and probably more). Usually that’s not an issue for me since the unmarked single rider line gets me on in less than 5 minutes, but today the queue was non-existent so my girlfriend and I could ride together.

We were alone on one side of the car, so we got a ride heavy on the spinning, much to my delight and my girlfriend’s dismay. The Gs in that downward helix are stronger than you’d expect from a family coaster and the finale even gives a pop of air. I know the park has several bigger coasters, but outside of Wicked Cyclone, Superman, and Joker, there probably isn’t one I prefer. 7 out of 10

Even Pandemonium didn't have a line.

As the sun was beginning to set, I knew it was snack-time. After discovering the fried dough pizza late last year, that has become my go to snack at Six Flags. It’s extremely filling and a unique taste swapping the traditional pizza dough for artery clogging fried dough.

Though I did consider this 6000 calorie salad…

Seriously check out that Garden Salad. Either it's a typo or they fry that thing in pure lard.

We had time for one last ride (or so we thought), so we decided to finish the night with a front row ride on Superman. We had to wait 3-4 trains, but it was well worth it. You know a coaster is exhilarating from start to finish when you can still feel your adrenalin pumping when you speed into the brake run. And that for sure is Superman.

This station is doing its best Clementon Park impersonation.

So Superman was the last ride we rode at Six Flags New England, but as we were driving home, I spotted a carnival immediately off the highway. We both had to work tomorrow, but of course we stopped. Now I have to admit, it was a pretty bad carnival. Outside of a Ferris Wheel, I think the tallest ride was the fun house or the Round-Up.

But it did have a credit. And after stopping, I decided why not. I happily paid 3 dollars and soon found myself in the back row of a Dragon Wagon. This one was larger (and unpowered) than the other Dragon Wagons I’ve ridden, but it was equally as slow. The experience was even more laughable considering I was riding Wicked Cyclone and Superman a mere 2-3 hours before. 2 out of 10

TBpony414 wrote:Great report on SFNE! I've never been there before and having thorough reports on parks I have not yet visited is fantastic. One of these days I'll get up there to try Superman out for myself.

Thanks! The park really does have one of the best one-two punches anywhere with Superman and Wicked Cyclone.

boldikus wrote:Great update. I really like that park, and Wicked Cyclone and Superman are amazing. Really hope to get back up there this year, also to check out that frisbee.

Thanks! Yeah I'm really looking forward to Harley Quinn. Have you been on one of the jumbo Zamperla ones? The only ones I prefer is the jumbo Intamin one I rode at Liseberg (Loke).

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